The Chair
PREMIERE OPENING SPIEL: Hi, I'm Philippa Forrester. Welcome to The Chair. The Chair was a short-lived game show where contestants would sit in a chair inside a pit and answer questions, all while keeping their heart rate under control. Based on the Version hosted by Shamar Stewart in 2002. Format and Gameplay Contestants walk down a white tunnel to The Chair where they are set up. The Player's listed things that He and She was speaking. After this, The chair then rises into the auditorium. Players have their resting heart-rate monitored before going into The Chair. They're given 170% of this as their initial "redline" figure. Every time they get a question correct they win cash. However, the contestant also has to keep beneath their "redline" heart-rate, failure to do so means having your cash drain away and you can't give a response to a question until you're within the limit again. After each question the "redline" figure is reduced by 5%. The only real rule was that the player in The Chair had to keep their eyes open (presumably closing them provides a calming effect). A loved one was on hand to offer vocal support. If a contestant answers everything correctly, they could leave with 50 000. The structure of the game was: *Question one was a multiple choice question. A correct answer would net an extra 1000 and redlining would cost 10 a second. *Question two was another multiple choice question worth 1500 and the redlining would cost 20 a second. *There would be a Heartstopper interval at this point. The player was given 45 seconds of quickfire questions, each one would add an extra beat to their redline rate. Whatsmore, there is no redline penalty for this interval. *Question three is an observation question. The player is shown a lot of abstract images and is then asked a question about one of them. A correct answer is worth another 2000, redlining dropping the prize at 30 a second. *If a player got any of the first three questions wrong then they would leave with nothing. After question three they are given a Stabilizer, which they can play once at any point up until question six and before the question is asked. This is a prize safety net, and if they do get a question wrong then they will go home with whatever has been stabilized. BUT! This can still be redlined away and if the prize fund drops beneath the stabilized level then the safety net will lower to match it. The advantage of saving their stabilizer until later is that it means a player should get more money if the player do get one wrong. But if the player waited to play it and get a question wrong in the interim, he/she leave with nothing. *Question four is a multiple choice worth 3000 and a 50 a second redline penalty. *Question five is a list question where the player has to list X amount that fits into list Y. A correct answer is worth 6000 and 100 a second is the penalty. *A second heartstopper. This time the special effects department show off for twenty seconds in a bid to push the contestant over the red line. We're rather disappointed about the lack of baby crocodile that would be lowered towards the the contestant as happened in the show, and we're rather baffled by a large pendulum you can clearly see in some shots but never actually got used during the series. *Question six is multiple choice with a 12 000 prize and a whopping 200 a second redline penalty. *The final question was worth 24 000 and came with a 500 a second penalty. The rising penalties always meant you were only ever about 50-60 seconds away from losing the lot which towards the end of the game always seemed incredibly harsh, especially as it gets harder and harder as the game progresses. In fact it was often worth throwing an answer late on to ensure you went home with something rather than redline everything away. To its credit, it was incredibly tense and exciting when it looked like someone might beat The Chair. As we recall, someone walked away with the full 50K and one or two walked away with just under it. See also * The Chair Episodes Inventor Harry Grant and Julie Christie Link https://www.bbc.co.uk/entertainment/thechair/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/entertainment/thechair/game.shtml https://www.bbc.co.uk/entertainment/thechair/biog.shtml https://gameshows.ru/wiki/The_Chair Category:Touchdown Television Category:2002 premieres Category:2002 endings Category:Nick Jr. shows Category:Treehouse shows